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Topic: First Time Queen Rasing Questions (Read 1842 times)

Grafted the first Time yesterday put in two cell bars with 10-15 cells per bar checked today about 22 hrs later and about 75 % have wax about 3/16 around cup starting to look like queen cells 1. does the wax building (forming of cells) mean they have been excepted

2. I used the smallest larva i could find but do not know the age for sure so can i put cells in nucs on day 8-9 to make sure one dosen't emerge and waste others

3. cells are being made on hive with 1 deep , 1 medium ,cloak board queen excluder , 3 more mediums cells are in top box i never put in cloak shim and was just practicing grafting WILL PRESENCE OF CELLS CAUSE A SWARM

>1. does the wax building (forming of cells) mean they have been excepted

No.

> 2. I used the smallest larva i could find but do not know the age for sure so can i put cells in nucs on day 8-9 to make sure one dosen't emerge and waste others

You can. I would wait until day 10 (from when it was grafted).

> 3. cells are being made on hive with 1 deep , 1 medium ,cloak board queen excluder , 3 more mediums cells are in top box i never put in cloak shim and was just practicing grafting WILL PRESENCE OF CELLS CAUSE A SWARM

Nice looking cells. I would put them in your nucs on day 9 from grafting. I know everyone recommends day 10 but last year I had some emerge early and destroy all the rest of the cells, 45 per hive. So we regularly move them to nucs on day 9. Just be careful handling them.

Grafted the first Time yesterday put in two cell bars with 10-15 cells per bar checked today about 22 hrs later and about 75 % have wax about 3/16 around cup starting to look like queen cells 1. does the wax building (forming of cells) mean they have been excepted

2. I used the smallest larva i could find but do not know the age for sure so can i put cells in nucs on day 8-9 to make sure one dosen't emerge and waste others

3. cells are being made on hive with 1 deep , 1 medium ,cloak board queen excluder , 3 more mediums cells are in top box i never put in cloak shim and was just practicing grafting WILL PRESENCE OF CELLS CAUSE A SWARM

Thanks Dave

So, you never put in the shim to make them think they are queenless?? I did not think they would make the queens if they knew they had a queen. I am going to start rearing queens this year so I am still learning! What kind of success rate should one expect. Meaning, if I place 20 cups on the bar, how many queens will be produced? 20? Just trying to plan how many mating nucs to prepare!

>Meaning, if I place 20 cups on the bar, how many queens will be produced? 20? Just trying to plan how many mating nucs to prepare!

Every queen breeder wishes they could predict. It depends on your technique, the age of the larvae, the density of the bees in the starter, the weather, the climate, the time of year...

So I guess it is like predicting the number of hives that will successfully overwinter! :)

Another question. Assume you have more queens then room in your mating nucs, and you use cell protector cages to catch some of the virgins before they die or are killed ( http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Cell-Protector-Cages-10/productinfo/153/ ). What is the best way to bank them? What is banking, how long can you do it, how many queens to one bank, etc..? I have found little about this on the web.

You can't bank virgins very long. If they don't mate soon they will not be good. If they don't mate in 24 days they will be drone layers. As far as banking laying queens, I prefer to leave them in nucs, but you can bank hundreds in one queenless nuc. Put them all in at once. Don't add any later. Remove them as you need them.

You need to if they are being shipped and not in a queen bank. I always put the candy in as I seldom bank queens for more than a couple of days and they I ship them.

> The description at Brushy Mountain says there is a hole that allows workers in to the cage. I am guess that is for feeding and tending to the queen!?!?

There are three ways to make an entrance large enough for a bee (not counting the "mesh" that the bees on the outside can feed through). One is the whole lid flipped open leaving about 3/4" by 3/8" oval. One is the small cap on the surface of that lid that holds it closed as well as plugging the hole. You have to open this cap to flip the whole thing open, but if you open it it leaves about a 3/8" hole for a bee to go through. The third is the end of the tube. Usually you fill the tube with candy and this is how the queen is released. You can put a cap on this as well.